WHEN FUTURE IN-LAWS ATTACK

Saturday's a slow news day, but whatever you do, don't miss this NYT story about a marriage in India that (happily) didn't get off the ground. Seems that the groom's family, who sound like a nasty collection of individuals, made a last minute, wedding day demand for a bigger dowry -- $25,000 extra, to be exact -- and the bride called the cops, dowry having been officially illegal since 1961. The police didn't take the matter too seriously until the press got a hold of it, and now the groom is likely to spend a little time in the slammer instead of in the wedding bed. From the description in the article, he certainly doesn't deserved to be married to the bride, and his family really needs to spend some time reading their Miss Manners.

From the Times of India website, you can hear a radio interview (in Hindi and English) with the former bride, Nisha Sharma, who is being praised for sticking up to bullying in-laws. Looks like the groom's mom is also now in legal trouble, and a nasty aunt is on the lam. An editorial in ToI cautions that the media frenzy surrounding the case isn't likely to produce any lasting changes in the dowry system. ToI also has a good background article on the legal framework surrounding dowry: it has been illegal since 1961, but complaints are rarely brought to official notice. Reported cases of cruelty by husbands and in-laws (crimes that merit a special section of the criminal code) are up in recent years, however.